Natural Ways to Be More Alert

8 Natural Ways to Be More Alert

We all wish that we could be more alert naturally. With more and more of us getting less and less sleep, it’s tempting to reach for a Red Bull or an espresso when we feel sleepy at work. But consuming caffeine to combat sleepiness can lead to a vicious cycle.

The java jolt that helps you stay awake can take up to eight hours to wear off. Caffeine can also reduce your sleep time, alter the normal stages of sleep, and decrease the quality of your sleep.

How can you stay awake naturally? Try some of these 8 jitter-free tips to take the edge off sleepiness.

1. Get Up and Move Around to Feel Awake

In one well-known study, Robert Thayer, PhD, a professor at California State University, Long Beach, studied whether people were more energized by eating a candy bar or taking a brisk 10-minute walk. Though the candy bar provided a quick energy boost, participants were actually more tired and had less energy an hour later. The 10-minute walk increased energy for two hours. That’s because walking pumps oxygen through your veins, brain, and muscles.

If you work at a desk, get up frequently for short walks. At meal breaks, walk to a restaurant or, if you bring your lunch, head for a nice spot to eat it. Whether you take a walk outside or just in the building where you work, it will make you feel more alert and refreshed. Movement and exercise has been shown to raise overall alertness and will lead to you to be more alert naturally.

2. Take a Nap to Take the Edge Off Sleepiness

There are two things to remember about naps: Don’t take more than one and don’t take it too close to your bedtime. “Nap between five and 25 minutes,” says Barry Krakow, MD, author of Sound Sleep, Sound Mind: Seven Keys to Sleeping Through the Night. It’s best to nap about six or seven hours before you would normally go to bed. If you must take a late nap close to bedtime, make it a short one.

Napping on the job can be touchy. If you need to nap at work, do it during your break and use a vibrating alarm clock, if necessary, to make sure it doesn’t spill over into your work time. Sleeping at your desk is usually not a good idea, but many companies now provide nap rooms for employees.

“If you can’t nap, even resting quietly with your eyes closed for 10 minutes or so will help,” says Allison T. Siebern, PhD, a fellow at the Stanford University Sleep Medicine Center in Redwood City, Calif.

3. Give Your Eyes a Break to Avoid Fatigue

Continuous fixation on a computer screen can cause eyestrain and worsen sleepiness and fatigue. Look away from the screen for a few minutes periodically to relax your eyes.

4. Eat a Healthy Snack to Boost Energy

Sugary snacks give you a quick energy boost followed by the sugar “lows,” when low blood sugar produces mental fogginess and lethargy. Snacks such as these will provide better overall energy in the long run:

Peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker or celery sticks

Yogurt and a handful of nuts or fresh fruit

Baby carrots with a low-fat cream cheese dip

5. Start a Conversation to Wake Up Your Mind

If you’re fading fast, engaging in conversation can get your mind moving again. “Talk to a colleague about a business idea, politics, or religion,” says Krakow, medical director of Maimonides Sleep Arts and Sciences, Ltd. in Albuquerque, N.M. “It’s a very strong behavioral stimulator — especially when it’s a conversation about politics.”

6. Turn Up the Lights to Ease Fatigue

Environments with dim lighting aggravate fatigue. Studies have shown that exposure to bright light can reduce sleepiness and increase alertness. Try increasing the intensity of your light source at work.

7. Take a Breather to Feel Alert

The idea of deep-breathing exercises is to inhale to the abdomen, not the chest. You can do them at your desk. Sitting up straight, try this exercise up to 10 times:

With one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other on your chest, inhale deeply through your nose and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.

Breathe out through lips pursed as if you were whistling. You can use the hand on your belly to help push air out.

Another technique, called stimulating breath, is used in yoga for a quick energy boost and increased alertness: Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Make your in-and-out breaths short — do about three of each cycle in a second. Then breathe normally. You can do this for up to 15 seconds the first time and then add on five seconds each time after until you reach a minute. Breathing techniques lead to your overall alertness and is a natural way to be more alert.

8. All Natural Alertness Spray

Over the counter products such as AlertDrops all natural alertness spray can wake you up and bring your alertness back quickly. Other formulas use additives such as guarana, caffeine, and Ginseng which can have long-term effects on the body. But with AlertDrops, you can be more alert, naturally. AlertDrops patented spray uses lemon extract for an all natural alertness without the dangers of a steep slump afterward.